Pages

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Our Favorite Preschool Curriculum and Resources

I am by no means an expert on teaching preschool, but I have taught four children preschool and am working on my fifth! I am going to list our favorite resources and curriculum choices, as well as a few helpful tips, for teaching 3-5 year old children.

{Before I begin, I will say that having a well-stocked arts and crafts cabinet is a must for this age! Paper plates, glue, construction paper, scissors, googly eyes, stickers, and markers are a few of the things I try not to run out of. Preschoolers can create so many wonderful things, learning about colors and shapes, perfecting their fine motor skills, and using their imagination - all at the same time! If you have nothing except arts and crafts supplies, you can still teach preschoolers!}

These Rod and Staff workbooks for the preschool-age are wonderful! They teach colors, numbers, shapes, Bible stories, patterns, and sequencing - all of the pre-reading and pre-writing skills your preschooler needs to learn. Titus does a page or two a day and is learning so much! They are very inexpensive, yet very high quality workbooks.

Several years ago, I printed off and laminated these alphabet pattern block cards for my then-preschooler, Silas. Now, Titus is using these with his letter-of-the-week curriculum I wrote for him. Along with learning how to properly form the alphabet letters, he is practicing fine motor skills, problem-solving, colors, and shapes - a win/win!

Another great hands-on activity for learning the alphabet {among other things} is Cuisenaire Rods! I've had this Alphabet Book for years, and Titus has had a blast creating letters and pictures with the colorful, multi-length rods. It's also great for fine motor skills and problem-solving; it's such fun even my 11 year old enjoys using it.

Counting bears are such a classic homeschool math manipulative, and for a good reason. They are so versatile and can be used for much more than counting! I purchased some pattern cards that Titus uses {patterns are such a hard concept for him to understand! ugh!} with his counting bears. He also sorts the bears by color and size, and we play games with them! I lay out flashcards with the numbers he is learning {currently 1-3} and he puts the correct amount of bears by each number.

All About Reading, Pre-Reading, was such a fun curriculum for Silas to use in Kindergarten. When Titus completes the letter-of-the-week curriculum we are using, we are going to use this! I already purchased the extra student kit {since Silas used the first one!} and can't wait to use it with Titus. It's a fun, hands-on curriculum, and who doesn't love Ziggy?

Before Five in a Row is a gentle, literature based preschool guide. I wouldn't call it a curriculum, but you could definitely use it as such! Using classic children's books, you will guide your child as he learns about numbers, shapes, colors, art, and literary analysis {at a preschool level}. Many of these books have become our favorites! Here is a link to the BFIAR blog posts I have written.

We have two sets of these animal magnets from Melissa and Doug. They are great for classifying, learning animals sounds, and just playing around! We use a cookie sheet for a magnetic board.